Crane trip-hammer.



R. BUNTS, JR.

CRANE TRIP HAMMER.

APPLICATION FILED JULYI 7, 1914.

1 9 1%%,@@5m Patented June 22, 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET I.

R. BUNTS, JR.

CRANE TRIP HAMMER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY17,19I'4.

Llwwzfim Patented June 22, 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Qtkomua THE NORRIS PETERS C0,, PHOTO-LITHKL, WASHINGTON. D. C.

R. BUNTS, JR.

CRANE TRIP HAMMER.

APPLICATION FILED JULYI 7, 1914.

LM%%m Patented June 22, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

THE NORkIS PETERS CO-. PHOTO-LITHO-, WASHINGTON, D. C.

l! I I2 I m W L) M l WU 4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

Patented June 22, 1915.

R. BUNTS, JR.

CRANE TRIP HAMMER.

APPLICATION FILED JULYH. 1914.

LIQQMQ5E THE NORRIS PETERS 60., F'I-JOTO-LITMO.v WASHINGTQN, D, C.

ROBERT BUNTS, JR., 013 PULASKI, VIRGINIA.-

CRANE TRIP-HAMMER.

mantras.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 22, 1915 Application filed July 17, 1914. Serial No. 851,675.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT BUNTS, Jr., a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Pulaski, county of Pulaski, State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Crane Trip- Hammers, of which the following is a full and clear specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2 a plan view partly broken away; Fig. 3 a vertical longitudinal section; Fig. 4 an end view; Fig. 5 a view of the opposite end; Fig. 6 a detail sectional view of one of the clutches employed in my apparatus; Fig. 7 a sectional view on the line 77 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 8 a detail view partly in horizontal section of the hammer tripping or releasing devices.

The main object of this invention is to provide a simple and efiicient means for lifting and tripping the hammer, these means being especially adapted, but not exclusively adapted, for use on a traveling crane car to thereby adapt the invention for the special purpose of breaking pig iron while the same is in the sand, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

A further object is to so construct the hammer supporting and guiding devices that the hammer or lower end of the tool will be capable of a limited swing laterally in any direction, whereby injury to the apparatus is avoided should the blow be of such character that it will relieve the strain on the mechanism to permit the hammer to yield laterally when the blow is struck, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

A further object is to so construct the hammer bar and lifting devices that in the act of starting the hammer on its upward stroke a yielding action is provided for, so that strain on the machinery will be avoided in overcoming the inertia of the heavy hammer, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simple device whereby, when the lifting gear meshes with the rack on the hammer bar, a portion of the gear teeth of the gear will yield sufiiciently to not only cushion the act of engagement with the rack on the hammer bar, but assist in bringing the gear into mesh with the rack with the least possible grinding and friction of the teeth,

this device being especially desirable in view of the fact that the stroke of the hammer is necessarily variable and, being variable, it is impossible to insure an accurate initial engagement of the teeth of the gear with the teeth of the rack at the beginning of the lifting stroke, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

A' further object is to provide means whereby the hammer lifting mechanism also operates a mechanism which imparts a step 55 by step movement to the car, this mechanism being especially desirable whenmy invention is employed in a pig breaker, since the apparatus may thereby be adjusted to automatically move from pig to pig along the entire row of pigs, and thus relieve the operator entirely of the necessity of shifting the car after each blow of the hammer, this step by step shifting mechanism being provided 1 with means whereby the distance of each step may be varied to suit the distance between the pigs, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

A further object is to combine my traveling pig breaking mechanism with a suitable g0 hoisting mechanism mounted on the same car with the pig breaking mechanism and operable from the same motor alternately with said pig breaking mechanism, so that, after the pigs are broken, the apparatus may be used for the purpose of picking up and removing the broken pigs, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

A further object is to provide a simple and reliable cushioned device for instantly g0 releasing the hammer bar with a minimum amount of friction and thus getting the fullest possible effect of the blow of the hammer.

Referring to the drawings annexed by reference characters, a designates a car which is mounted on a pair of axle-shafts 6, whose wheels 0 travel on rails d mounted on the usual traveling bridge beams e which are mounted to travel on a suitable structure in the usual manner, not shown.

Journaled on the car frame is a shaft f which is driven in any suitable manner from a train of gears g, h and i and which has aflixed to it a mutilated gear j which is adapted to mesh with a rack bar 70 carried by the vertically reciprocable hammer. This gear j is rotated continuously in the direction of the arrow and several of its initial teeth are carried by a radially slidable block Z pressed normally outwardly so as to bring 119 its teeth in proper position with respect to the stationary teeth of the wheel by means of a suitable coil spring m, a suitable pin and slot connection a being employed to limit the outward movement of the block. The object in thus'resiliently supporting the initial teeth of the gear is to avoid shock and breakage as well as wear when these teeth make engagement with the lifting bar of the hammer. Mounting the teeth in this manner enables them to more readily adjust themselves to the teeth of the rack bar should the hammer come to rest at a point where a perfect mesh could not be secured' This device is especially desirable in view of the fact that the hammer is practically certain to come to rest at a slightly different height with every stroke.v Without this resilient set of teeth on the gear, severe wear and noise and occasional breaking of the teeth would result. The terminal teeth of the gear are mounted on a similar springpressed block 0. This block 0 is provided with a pair of lateral lugs 39 which are adapted at a predetermined point to come into contact with the underside of a corresponding pair of lugs g on the frame of the car, to thereby withdraw the blockoo radially inwardly far enough to disconnect its teeth from the teeth of the rack bar. The lugs 19 and Q are so located that they withdraw the block 0 after the teeth of the rack bar 7:: leave the stationary teeth of the wheel and are in engagement only with the teeth of block 0, so that the instant block 0 is withdrawn from the rack bar, the rack bar is free to make its gravity stroke. This tripping device affords a very quick and positive release in which friction and noise are reduced to a minimum, thus getting the fullest possible effect of the blow of the hammer and reducing the noise and wear to a minimum.

p Rack 70 of the hammer is affixed to a' sleeve 1", up through which extends a central fixed to the reduced end of rod 8, said collar u being slidable but non-rotatable upon said reduced end. Between the collar u and end nut w is a coil spring as which is sufficiently strong to resiliently support the hammer t and its connected rod 8. By turning the collar u by means of one or both handles, the tapered working face of the hammer or other tool may be adjusted rotatively without afiecting the sleeve 1' to bring the hammer into position to perform its work most efiectively. The collar u may be provided with a depending beveled tooth y which may engage in one of a series of similarly shaped notches in the upper end of the sleeve to thereby look the tool in its rotatively adjusted position. It will be observed that when the tool falls to its work, all the parts connected to it fall as a whole, there being an abutting relation between the lower end of the sleeve 1 and the tool head; but when a tool is lifted by the gear, it will be seen that in overcoming the inertia of the tool the spring 00 will afford a certain degree of resiliency and thus relieve the strain of starting the hammer on its upward stroke, since the sleeve 1' is slidable on the central rod and spring 02 forms the abutment against which said sleeve presses during the lifting stroke.

The sleeve 1" is mounted to slide in a guide block 2 which partly surrounds the sleeve, said sleeve being angular in cross section to prevent its disconnection from the guide block. Upon the lower end of the guide block is formed a. spherical member a which rests in a similarly shaped socket formed in a block I) mounted on the frame of the car, whereby, when the tool strikes the work with a glancing blow, the tool may swing a limited distance laterally in any direction to thus relieve the strain on the parts.

As heretofore stated, this apparatus is especially adapted for breaking pigs in the sand. hen it is used for this purpose, I prefer using a step by step actuating mechanism for the car, so that the car may be arranged to travel along the rails d intermittently to-bring it automatically in position to break each pig in the long rows in which the pigs are usually cast in the sand. To obtain this step by step movement of the carriage, I may employ any suitable mechanism, but I prefer the following devices: A stub shaft 0 is driven from shaft f by a pair of gears (1, said shaft 0 being provided with a beveled gear 6 mounted adjacent to one of the axles b of the car. Slidably and rotatively mounted on this axle b is the sleeve carrying a pair of companion beveled gears g and it, either one of which may be brought into mesh with gear 0'.

Afiixed to gear 9 is one member 2" of a clutch, the other member j of this clutch being affixed to said shaft I) so as to rotate with the same but be slidable thereon. The clutch member y" is normally pressed toward member z" by coil spring Z, and this member j is adapted to be shifted out of enga ment with member 71 by means of a lever m. Lever m is operated by means of a link a pivotally connected to the wrist pin 0' affixed to a disk 79 carried by the aforesaid shaft The connection of link at to lever m is a lost motion one, and the wrist pin 0 is made radially adjustable on the disk 7) by the well known slot and bolt connection. hen gear 9 is adjusted into mesh with gear 0, it will be seen that the rotation of disk 7) will, through the medium of link a and lever no, cause an intermittent engagement of the two clutch members j and 2" and. thus cause intermittent rotation of the axleshaft 6 of the car. The lost motion connection between lever m and link n is to permit the wheel 3) to complete its rotation after the clutch members j are in engagement. When the gear 9 is shifted out of engagement with gear e and gear 71. is brought into engagement with gear e, the same step by step movement of the car is produced, but in the opposite direction, so that in breaking rows of pigs in the sand the car may move down one row and then, by lateral shifting of the bridge beams 6, may be brought over to the adjacent end of the next row of pigs and be moved in a similar manner along said row, and so on until all the rows of pigs are broken, the entire casting bed being thereby covered by the least possible movement of the car. When the gears g and h are shifted to middle position, neither gear will mesh with gear 6', so that in that case the car will have to be moved by other mechanism, an example of which is described hereinafter. Any suitable means may be used to shift the companion gears g and it, such for instance as a manually operable lever g and a suitable notched segmental rack to hold the same in its adjusted positions.

If the step by step mechanism itself is not employed when it is desired to move the car, I employ the electric motor 1" which is connected by a suitable train of gearing to a gear .9 mounted on the other axle b and provided with a clutch member If. A companion clutch member u, slidable upon the axle 7) but rotatable with it, is adapted to be shifted into engagement with the member 25, so that when the motor is operated the axle Z) will be rotated. I also prefer mounting on the car a suitable hoisting apparatus which is adapted to be used when the hammer mechanism is not in employment, so that the car may be used either as a hammer or as a hoisting apparatus in the usual manner. The letter 1) designates a hoisting drum whose shaft is provided with a gear to which meshes with a gear at mounted on a shaft 3 and provided with a clutch member Q. Mounted on the same shaft 1 is another clutch member a which is aflixed to or made integral with the above described gear g, and between the two clutch members a and a is mounted a double clutch member 6 which is adapted to be shifted to neutral position, as shown in Fig. 2, or into engagement with either member a or a by any suitable mechanism. The shaft y is driven from an electric motor 0 by means of a pinion (Z affixed to the shaft of the motor and meshing with gear 6 which gear 6 is affixed to a shaft f which in turn is provided with a pinion 9 which meshes with a large gear if on the aforesaid shaft y. With this simple arrangement of gearing, the operator may operate either the hoisting drum or the hammer mechanism, or he may adjust the clutch member a so as to operate neither one of these mechanisms.

To hold the hammer up when not in use and when the gearing is disconnected from the motor, I provide a ratchet wheel '5 affixed to the shaft of the lifting gear and adapted to cooperate with a pawl 7' pivoted on the frame of the car, this pawl and ratchet being so arranged that under no circumstances can the lifting gear rotate backward, so that this pawl and ratchet will prevent the hammer from dropping at all times except when the rack of the hammer is out of mesh with the gear.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is:

1. In combination with a tool of the class set forth provided with a lifting rack bar, a mutilated gear adapted to mesh with said rack bar and means for rotating it to lift the bar, the initial teeth of said gear being mounted to yield inwardly.

2. In an apparatus of the class set forth, a drop tool carrying a rack bar, a mutilated gear for raising the tool through the medium of the rack bar, the terminal teeth of the gear being mounted on a member movable inwardly, and means for drawing said member inwardly to release the rack bar at a predetermined point.

3. In a trip hammer apparatus, the combination of a frame, a hammer provided with a rack bar, gearing for engaging the rack bar to lift the hammer, tripping means, a block supported on the frame by a ball and socket device, the hammer being slidable through this block and the block being open at one side to permit the rack bar to engage the lifting gear, the hammer and the groove in which it slides through the block being angular in cross-section to prevent disconnection of the hammer from the block, for the purposes set forth.

4;. In a trip hammer, the combination of a hammer having fixed to it a rod, a sleeve surrounding the rod and provided with a rack bar, means for resiliently connecting the rack bar to the rod to cushion the upward stroke of the hammer, and a lifting gear meshing with said rack.

5. In a trip hammer, the combination of a frame, a vertically slidable sleeve carrying a rack bar, a tool having a rod extending upwardly through said sleeve, means at the upper end of the rod for rotativelyadjusting it relatively to the sleeve to thereby adjust the angle of the tool to the work, and means for raising and dropping the tool through the medium of said rack bar.

6. In combination, a car, a trip hammer and mechanism for raising and dropping the same, and means for moving the car step by step automatically from the hammer raising mechanism, for the purpose set forth.

7. In combination, a car, a trip hammer and mechanism for raising and dropping the same, and means for moving the car step by step automatically from the hammer raising mechanism, said means embodying devices whereby the car may be moved either backwardly or forwardly.

8. In combination with a car and means for moving the same on its rails, a trip hammer and mechanism for raising and dropping the same, a hoisting drum, a motor on the-car, and mechanism connected therewith whereby either the hammer lifting mechanism or the hoisting drum may be operated.

9. In a trip hammer apparatus, the combination of a frame, a hammer whose bar carries a rack, a mutilated lifting gear and means for rotating this gear in one direction to lift the hammer, and automatic means for preventing this gear from rotating in the opposite direction, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT BUNTS, JR.

Witnesses:

R. FLOYD SMITH, R. B. GUNN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

